Yesterday, a friend told me about a vast study on near-death experiences. One thing that all of the experiences had in common was meeting a being of love clad in light. The being would ask them, without any form of condemnation or judgment, what they did with their life. Their life would then be revealed back to them, some would say it felt like reliving it, some saw it projected. Either way, the being would highlight two things: moments you loved and moments you learned.

It was implied that after all is said and done, this is what matters in a life.

This is what remains.

Brother do you believe in an afterlife
Where our souls will both collide
In some great Elysium
Way up in the sky
Free from our shackles, our chains
Our mouths, our brains
We’ll open all the gates
And we will walk careless
Straight into the light

I’ve never felt so enlightened
With every page I turn
I only find myself feeling more alone
Posing questions to a silent universe
My very thoughts a curse
They just seem to multiply
Forever in my mind

Brother don’t grow up
Brother please never grow up

Hold out against the night
Guard your hope with your life
For the darkness, she will come
Oh and you will have nowhere left to run

Oh but your eyes are wider than mine
And help me to sleep
I just hope that age does not erase
All that you see
Don’t let bitterness become you
Your only hopes are all within you